


The Quiet After

by TugboatExpress



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-07 16:25:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17964008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TugboatExpress/pseuds/TugboatExpress
Summary: Some mini-vignettes about how secondary/supporting characters are dealing with life after the snap.





	The Quiet After

**Author's Note:**

> This work is probably really sad but I promise it has a hopeful ending!

Quiet.

The universe is quiet. 

But it hadn’t been at first. 

At first there was screaming, and sobbing, and wailing. There was crashing, there were alarms, there was shattering. The initial chaos was a worldwide whirlwind of sheer panic and terror and grief. But then there was just shock.

So now universe is quiet. The universe is quiet because half of it is gone.

It’s been three days.

Pepper Potts sits alone in a huge tower that feels more like a haunted house.

At first she had called Tony. She had called Tony and called Tony and called Tony. He hadn’t answered. Frantic, she’d phoned Happy. Relief - he had answered. She’d phoned Phil Coulson. Relief. Harley. Relief. Rhodey. Relief - relief so strong she’d dissolved into tears.

“I can’t find Tony,” she’d sobbed.

“We’ll get him. We’ll get him - I promise, Pepper.” he’d replied, but his voice had been shaking.

So now Pepper is quiet. She sits in Avengers tower, entirely alone. FRIDAY speaks to her every so often, to order her food, or to tell her to sleep. Pepper spends every waking moment poring over Tony’s files, absorbing as much information she can about the tesseract from the Battle of New York, and about the stone that had powered Vision.

She’s wearing one of his suits. It’s cold and hard and smells like metal. But it feels like home. Pepper Potts keeps herself from breaking by scheming, making a plan. She’s quiet.

***

Halfway across the universe, Kraglin paces in a nearly-empty Ravager ship.

It’s very quiet, which is eerie. Usually, Ravager ships were bustling with noise; shouting and singing and banging and clanking. But these days there’s barely enough crew left to pilot the ship.

When it had happened, his blood had run cold. He had immediately called Peter. There was no answer. Minutes later, he’d received a call from Nebula. They kept in regular contact - Kraglin considered her a friend, and she thought the same (though secretly). But this call had been different.

“Kraglin,” She had whispered, voice hoarse. “He did it.”

Both of them were silent after that, but they had stayed on the line with each other for hours. Kraglin didn’t have to ask about the fate of the others. He just knew.

So now Kraglin is quiet. He thinks a lot about that stone that that crazy Kree bastard had tried to use to destroy Xandar. But then he remembers that Xandar was destroyed, anyway, so he stops thinking about it. 

He fiddles with Yondu’s arrow. He thinks that Yondu could have beaten him. But then he thinks that the Guardians - his family - should have been able to. He’s quiet.

***

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Cassie Lang sits on her couch, wrapped up close with her stepdad. 

She had been at school when it happened. There had been crying, and screaming, and she had hidden under a desk, but kept her eyes (and fists) alert, in case anything else happened. Her stepdad and her dad had taught her all about self-defence. 

She had been crying, but she stopped when her stepdad had burst through the door. She had ran straight into his arms.

Her dad hadn’t come home. Or her mom. Or Hope.

So now Cassie is quiet. She spends her days and nights clinging to her last parent. She thinks her dad is alive. He could get even smaller than dust when he was wearing the Ant-Man suit. And the Ant-Man suit isn’t in his closet, so he must have been wearing it. 

She’s seen the news, even though her stepdad tries to keep her from watching it. She’s seen the footage. She bets someone really tiny could beat that guy. She’s quiet.

***

Somewhere, beyond the known universe, Valkyrie is hiding, with less than ten Asgardians.

There had been more than a dozen, but then it had happened, and now there were eight.

So now it’s quiet. She knows Thor is dead. She knows Bruce is dead. She knows Heimdall is dead. If they were alive, then this wouldn’t have happened. She wonders if Loki is alive. Tricky little bitch probably is. She thinks of the Tesseract; remembers seeing it locked up in Odin’s vault.

From across the room, the baby cries. The baby doesn’t have a mother anymore. Or a home. Another Asgardian refugee hurries to soothe him.

It’s quiet again. She thinks of Thor, of Bruce; of their precious “Earth”. The planet they’d been heading to before it all went down. They had told of friends - heroes. 

Valkyrie wonders if there are any heroes left on Earth. She dares to hope that there are. It’s time for heroics, but heroics have ruined her life too many times. She’s quiet.

***

Ned sits at the table, staring at the wall and letting his mug of hot chocolate get cold. May sits beside him, rubbing his back and feigning strength.

Ned was missing his parents, and May was missing her boy. So here they are.

The 24 hours after it had happed are a blur to Ned. The loss of his parents. The shock and the grief and the terror. The calls to Peter. No response, no response, no response, no response. The call to MJ. No response. He hadn’t called again. The discovery that this was a worldwide thing. The indescribable fear. Stumbling his way to Peter and May’s apartment. May, rushing to hold him. Crying, more crying. Talk of Peter; filling May in on what happened. A too-silent city, eerie in the dark of night.

“Ned?” May says now, softly.

Ned breaks out of his trance, shaking his head after a few minutes of staring off into space.

May smiles, tiny and gentle. “Your hot chocolate will be getting cold,”

Ned nods and takes a sip. He peers at May.

Quietly, barely more than a whisper, he says, “He was in that spaceship when it happened. Wasn’t even on Earth anymore. Maybe….”

He trails off. He doesn’t want to say it; doesn’t risk jinxing it.

May grips his shoulder. “Maybe,” she says. Her voice is strong and she’s still smiling, just slightly. She nods. “Maybe.”

Ned takes anther slurp of his lukewarm hot chocolate. He thinks of the spaceship. He thinks of turning back around in his seat, to an open window and an empty seat where Peter had been. 

It’s quiet in the tiny apartment, so silent in the absence of Peter and his usual happy ramblings that the silence feels deafening. Spider-man is brave, and smart, and strong. Peter even more so.

Ned’s the guy in the chair. He needs to make a plan. He needs to do something. He glances over at May. They’re quiet.

***

The silence is broken for Carol Danvers, one quiet evening of rare relaxation, when her pager goes off. Fresh out of a fight, she’s not exactly eager for another, but duty calls. The pager beeps as she approaches. 

It’s urgent. It’s from Nick Fury. Apparently, it’s time for a fight. 

The pager keeps on beeping. 

Steady. Unrelenting.

Loud.

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, feedback of any kind is appreciated!! :) I know that this one is SUPER short, but I haven't written anything Marvel in WAYYYYYYYYY too long, and I'm beyond excited for Endgame!!!! Thanks for reading, darlings!


End file.
